Brain training shows promise for PTSD in veterans
NCT ID NCT06629064
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Aug 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a computer-based working memory training program can help veterans with PTSD improve their ability to unlearn fear responses. 120 veterans will be randomly assigned to either the training or a sham version. The goal is to see if the training changes brain activity and reduces fear during extinction learning, which could lead to better PTSD treatments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Working memory training (computer-based cognitive exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this training could be a new tool to help veterans with PTSD better respond to exposure therapy or even serve as a standalone treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 120 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The training is computer-based and may not work for all PTSD symptoms.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2024
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Fluent in English * Meet current DSM-5 criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder * Are willing to attend 8 total remote sessions of working memory training over course of four weeks * Are willing to attend MRI scans pre and post working memory training * 4-week stability on pharmacological and psychosocial treatments Exclusion Criteria: * A lifetime history of psychotic disorders, lifetime history of bipolar disorder * Past-year severe substance use and severe alcohol use disorder. Mild-to-moderate alcohol use disorder will be allowed to enhance generalizability in our sample due to the high comorbidity of alcohol use and PTSD * History of any neurological disorder that might be associated with cognitive dysfunction (e.g., cerebrovascular accident, intracranial surgery, aneurysm, seizure disorder) * Acute suicidality requiring immediate clinical intervention * Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, mild to moderate levels of TBI (mTBI) will be included * Receiving benzodiazepines or medications with anticholinergic effects that may affect fear learning measures * Inability to safely complete fMRI session (i.e., metal in body, medical implants)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
RECRUITINGSan Diego, California, 92161-0002, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can training hospital staff in Trauma-Informed care make childbirth safer?
- Scientists probe brain's reward system in mental illness
- Can a mindfulness class help veterans with concussion and PTSD?
- Can MDMA plus therapy help veterans fight both PTSD and alcohol addiction?
- Can a personalized mix of nerve stimulation and therapy rewire the brain for better mental health?